Terrorist's knife 'was just for a salad'

Relatives, neighbors of terrorist who stabbed a mother of 3 on Sunday deny her guilt, claims she 'liked to be with Jews.'

Arutz Sheva Staff, 04/04/16 23:01

Knife attack (illustration)

Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90

Following yesterday’s knife attack in Rosh Ha’ayin in which a 30-year-old mother of three was wounded, the Arab Israeli suspect’s mother denies the incident was a terror attack, claiming that the knife her daughter was brandishing was “for making salad."

The mother, a resident of the town of Kfar Qassem close to the scene of the attack, told Channel 2 that her daughter wasn’t a terrorist, and decried the media for rushing to judgment.

“She’s dieting. She always carries fruit and a knife with her in her bag to make salads,” she said. In the attack, the terrorist had a box cutter in her hand which she used to stab, and another knife was found in her bag. Police have yet to officially declare the attack as terrorism.

The mother of the accused suggested that her daughter may have been responding to something said or done to her prior to the attack.

“What happened to her on the way? Who spoke with her on the way? We don’t know any of that at this point. God forbid [this was] not a terror attack. We don’t live in the territories [Judea and Samaria]; we’re living in Israel; how could I ever betray the state?”

The mother went on to describe her daughter’s alleged fondness for Jews.

“Do you know how many times she told me ‘Mom, I love living with Jews, more than with Arabs’?”

Witnesses reported that the suspect yelled “I’ll kill you” during her rampage, and her victim who was lightly wounded testified afterwards that the assailant walked towards her before suddenly stabbing her, and then continued to try to stab her as she desperately tried to push her away.